Sensex sheds 40 pts on profit-booking

Snapping a four-day rising streak, the BSE benchmark Sensex fell by over 40 points in early trade today as funds and retail investors booked profits at prevailing levels.

The 30-share index, which gained over 547 points in the last four sessions, fell by 40.19 points, or 0.23%, to 17,389.79 with stocks of oil and gas, auto and banking sectors succumbing to profit-booking.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty declined by 11.90 points, or 0.23%, to 5,267.00.

Brokers said profit-booking by speculators after recent strong gains following government's moves to revive the economy and clarity on tax-avoidance rules, snapped the four-day rising streak.

They, however, added that a firming trend on Asian bourses following Friday's gains in the global markets capped the losses.